Indonesias Crucial Musical Icon - Essay Example

Gamelan ensembles are Indonesia’s crucial musical icons. 
Currently, gamelan exists equally as instrumental music, which includes components of poetry, dance, and wayang, and as a connected component of those art forms themselves.

This brand of music often features a mixture of instruments such as xylophones, gongs, metallophones, bamboo flutes, and plucked strings. Sometimes, a vocalist may be included but not a must since this type is typically instrumental. Gamelan as a combination set of instruments is a separate unit, constructed and tuned to stay as one; however, the instruments from gamelan can never be changed.

Characteristics of Gamelan ensembles
Gamelan music is constructed in layers. The basic melody is found at the midpoint or its center. This layer; the basic melody is also referred to as the balungan (core melody). Other layers include the singing in choral pieces, define upon the core melody in meticulous techniques; however, the notes of every layer of the music connect to the banquet and correspond at the closing stages of phrases that are also referred to as Seleh in Javanese. There is an additional set of instruments that define a colostomy formation, frequently ending in the stroke of the biggest gong.

Shadow Puppetry
This is a popular method of entertainment in many nations around the globe. Indonesia is one of the countries that have facilitated the development of shadow puppetry over a period. Shadow puppetry is argued as the oldest type of puppetry in the world. The term puppetry, which is also known as wayang, originated from the Indonesian word for shadow baying. Wang Kulit, and uses shapes created from water buffalo hide. Despite its value in Indonesia, shadow puppetry found its way into India and China many millenniums ago. In Indonesia, shadow puppetry’s foundation is usually based on the religious tales of good versus evil. Shadow puppetry is essential in reinforcing the traditional ethics of native civilization.

Nueva canción
This is a group and genre in Latin American and Iberian folk music, folk-inspired music, and in social context devoted type of music. In other words, this genre is also known as a ‘New Song Movement’ or ‘Trova’, which makes part of a Latin American musical movement. The reason behind the name is that the song was composed and started during the time of social movements and the Allende revolutions in the 1900s and 1970 respectively. Its main function at that time was to unite the society and a source of weapon against social injustices by bad governance.

Characteristics of a Sanjuan
Sanjuan is also known as a song of the festival. The name is derived from St. John the Baptist with its routes traced from as from 1860. Compared to other genres, this music is played without pedals but on a harp known as Ibambura. It is mostly played by male harpists where some part of it is sung and another played. The main function of this song is to harmonize relationships between two or more people. The song has a complementary bass line that emphasized the minor tonic and main comparative key. Just like other songs, this music is repetitious on various levels with a prevailing motive and two keys played on the same occasion.

Quichua
This genre of music is played by an instrument made by a horse, donkey, jaw bone of a cow; molars of any animal. The instrument generates a clear dry split sound when stricken with a fist. It was first introduced in Peru in the 18th century and is currently used in Afro-Peruvian songs. The music is part of the Quichua people of Northern Ecuador which is based on the slopes of the Cotacachi Mountains. Half of its population lives in the highlands and speaks one major language; Quichua. Quichua’s origin is traced from the genealogy of the Ican Kingdom.

Their way of dressing identifies the Quichua community. Males put on a hat, blue or white shirts, dark poncho, and white underwear. However, that dress code is only applicable to male adults. Each group has its dressing code where teenagers wear sweatshirts and slacks or jeans while females put on embellished or large blouses, clothes on the head, blue and white skirts put on at the same time, two belts; wawa chubby and mama chubby, shirts with shawls draped over them. The musicians’ stools are made using Cabuya cactus together with other natural products to produce important objects.

Afro-Peruvian music; its history, musical genres
This is another Latin American music that was introduced and developed by slaves of West African origin in South America; Peru. It is also referred to as música Criolla, a combination of Spanish and West African music. The music consists of flamenco; partial guitar sounds and also drumming instruments such as Quijada, Cajon, cowbell, and fajita.
The Kallawaya People and the K’antu
K’antu is ceremonial and traditional panpipe music that was first started in the altiplano; an elevated plateau of Peru-Bolivia.

The Kantu was performed during healing ceremonies in circles by both women and men. Read More